Ipswich Town Football Club have worked in partnership with AccessAble, to produce detailed pan-disability guides for Portman Road.
The accessibility information in this guide aims to assist fans with disabilities and provide an additional resource to help home and away supporters plan their visit.
You can view the guide via accessable.co.uk/suffolk-county-council/access-guides/ipswich-town-football-club
Train
For those travelling by train, it takes just under 10 minutes to walk from Ipswich station to Portman Road.
There are two main train routes into Ipswich, from London and from Peterborough. Norwich is at the start/end of the mainline route through Ipswich to/from London with regular trains.
From London, there are 2-3 trains an hour, all from London Liverpool Street. The train company is Greater Anglia (www.greateranglia.co.uk). Some trains stop at Stratford for easy suburban rail, tube, Overground, DLR and bus connections – before planning to change at Stratford, please check that it isn’t easier or quicker to go via Liverpool St.
Check carefully via www.greateranglia.co.uk and also www.tfl.gov.uk for any planned engineering works that might impact your journey.
Car
If you are travelling from the Midlands or North, then you will use the A14. From London, the South-East, South-West or South Wales, then you will (probably) use the A12. From Norwich you will probably use the A140 to the A14, with a further possible route via the A12 (Lowestoft to Ipswich).
From the Midlands and North
Make your way to the A14, joining it at the start from the M6 or M1, or near Huntingdon from the A1.
The A14 is a very busy road throughout the day, carrying most of the container traffic for the port of Felixstowe, as well as linking the M11 to the A1.
From London, the South-East, South-West and South Wales
The simple advice is to make your way to the M25, and then join the A12 near Brentwood (Junction 28 of the M25). If you are starting in the South-West or South Wales, you do have the option of driving via the Birmingham area (M42 to M6).
From Norwich
From Norwich, the most direct route is the A140. If you are starting near the A11, you can also drive down towards Newmarket and then join the A14 A further option is to head down the A11, and cut across from Thetford to the bottom of the A140. If you are starting to the east of Norwich, then the scenic drive out towards Lowestoft and then down the A12 is often no slower than the A140 option and is far pleasanter.
From the A11/A14 or A140 routes, take the A1214 into Ipswich (instructions below). If you are taking the A12 route and don’t know your way around Ipswich, then the easiest approach is to ignore the initial Ipswich turn-offs after Woodbridge, continue to the A14, head west and then come off at the A14 / A12 Copdock interchange
The last few miles
Sat Navs vary in their recommended route into town, but it shouldn’t normally take more than 15 minutes from the A12 / A14 Copdock interchange to the ground.
For those not using a Sat Nav, once you reach the A12 / A14 Copdock interchange, just south of Ipswich, take the A1214 (London Road) for a couple of miles into town. As you approach the town centre area, there’s a Sainsbury’s supermarket on the left – at this point, go straight on past Sainsbury’s and then almost immediately right onto West End Road. Take the first left (after about half a mile) onto Sir Alf Ramsey Way and continue to the stadium.
Note that the road immediately behind the Cobbold Stand is blocked permanently at both ends behind the stand, and the road behind the Sir Bobby Robson Stand is closed 90 minutes before the game, so to access the NCP car park on Portman Road you will need to continue on London Road, straight on to Handford Road and then turn right at a set of traffic lights onto Portman Road.
Parking
There is no official stadium car park, but there is parking all around the ground. The closest is a large car park on Portman Road (right by the away end, post code IP1 2BP), though this can be full by 1.30pm or even earlier, on a Saturday matchday and 6:30pm or earlier for a midweek game. Note that the Portman Road entry/exit for this car park will be closed 15 minutes before the end of the game until 15 minutes after the game. Vehicle access via Friars Bridge Road to Princes Street will remain open at all times.
There are also large car parks on West End Road (5 minutes’ walk away, post code IP1 2DZ) and at the railway station (less than 10 minutes, postcode IP2 8AL). The town centre is less than 10 minutes’ walk, and has numerous car parks, as you’d expect.
Capacity: 29,673
Opened: 1884
Pitch size: 102m x 75m
Stadium address: Town Football Club, Portman Rd, Ipswich IP1 2DA
Phone: +44 (0) 1473 400580
The pitch is surrounded by four all-seater stands, the Sir Bobby Robson Stand, the Cobbold Stand, the Sir Alf Ramsey Stand and the West Stand.